The sixth stop of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2014/15 resumed today in Erzurum, Turkey with the first Ladies and Men’s 1000 m of the weekend, and the Ladies and Men’s 1500 m and Relay semifinals.
Elise Christie (GBR) and Semen Elistratov (RUS) win Ladies and Men 1000 m events
Elise Christie (GBR) took the lead with two laps to go to win the first Ladies 1000 m final of the weekend. This was her first individual World Cup win of the season. Kassandra Bradette (CAN) crossed the finish line in second place with Suk Hee Shim (KOR) was very close behind in third place. Kexin Fan (CHN) was the other skater in the final and finished fourth after receiving a penalty. Suk Hee Shim extends her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance, with one more event to go.
In the first Men’s 1000 m, Semen Elistratov took his second win in as many weekend in the same distance. Leading from start to finish, a photo finish review was required to determine the winner; despite a late attempt to take the lead and a faster last lap, Sjinkie Knegt (NED) finished in second place. Da Woon Sin (KOR) finished in third place. Tommaso Dotti (ITA) and Dajing Wu (CHN) finished fourth and fifth respectively. The win places Semen Elistratov in the lead of the World Cup classification for the distance.
Arianna Fontana (ITA) and Tianyu Han (CHN) earn victory in the 1500 m event
Arianna Fontana (ITA) was the first of an eight-skater pack to cross the line to earn the win in the Ladies 1500 m final. She finished ahead of two Canadian skaters, who were right on her heels: Marianne St-Gelais finished second, and Kim Boutin finished third. The following finishers were: Ekaterina Strelkova (RUS), Yihan Guo (CHN) and Yui Sakai (JPN). Despite a seventh place finish, Minjeong Choi (KOR) earned enough points to clinch the overall World Cup classification title for the distance. Valerie Maltais (CAN) received penalty in the race.
On the Men’s side, it was a Chinese one-two finish, with Tianyu Han crossing the finish line in first place, ahead of teammate Dequan Chen. Nine skaters were at the start line, and it was anyone’s race to win: Han took the lead with six laps to go and stayed in front until the end. Victor An (RUS) was third. Da Woon Sin did not skate the event today, however he had already clinched the overall World Cup classification title in Germany. The other finishers were (in order): Patrick Duffy (CAN), Ruslan Zakharov (RUS), Han-Bin Lee (KOR), Yuri Confortola (ITA), Vincent Jeanne (FRA), and Jae min Hwang (KOR).
Racing resumes tomorrow with the Ladies and Men 500 m, the second 1000 m event for both the Ladies and Men, and the Relay finals. The teams advancing in Ladies 3000m Relay final are Canada, China, Italy and Korea; in the Men’s 5000m Relay, China, Korea, Netherlands and Russia, will be competing in the final.